Adrenaline Rush
by Zubeneschamali
Summary: A short scene after "Pine Bluff Variant"; what might have happened.


Title: Adrenaline Rush  
  
Author: Zubeneschamali  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Spoilers: Pine Bluff Variant  
  
Category: Romance  
  
Summary: A short scene taking place immediately after "Pine Bluff Variant".  
  
Disclaimer: Yea, all characters contained therein belong to Chris Carter and FOX, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, amen.  
  
  
  
Scully was still staring in angry disbelief at the back of the retreating US Attorney, her eyes blazing as Mulder had seen them only a few times. He was furious, too, or at least knew he should be. The thought that the entire "deep cover" assignment had been nothing more than an excuse for the government to test a deadly weapon on its own citizens was as horrific as any of the conspiracies he had uncovered in the X-Files. But right now the adrenaline that was still pumping through him wouldn't let him concentrate on anything other than what he had believed at the time were his final thoughts. And now the person to whom they should have been spoken was here, with him, and there was no reason to wait. He bent down and murmured in her ear, "Scully, I really need to talk to you. Is there somewhere private we could go?"  
  
"Mulder, we've still got to run a second check on the money and make sure no one in the bank was exposed to the toxin," she replied in a low tone, eyes still focused grimly towards the street. "No matter what that creep says. Can it wait till we get back to D.C.?"  
  
He closed his eyes. Somehow he knew that that was what would happen. That they'd put it off until their emotions weren't running so high, and then there wouldn't be anything to talk about anyway, nothing that couldn't be suppressed until the next time one of them was reprieved from certain death. He was still so wound from his narrow escape that he could barely stand still, but he knew that it would eventually fade. As would the realizations he had come to in that instant, kneeling on the ground awaiting his execution. And so he said, "No," and led his partner past his boss and into the bank.  
  
  
  
Flashing his badge got them a private office with non-glass walls, probably that of the man who had been so unpleasantly surprised earlier by the armored truck. Fortunately, no one but Scully had noticed the resemblance between his splinted finger and that of the man in the Dracula mask. When the door closed behind them, she stepped away from his hand on her back and said, "Okay, Mulder, what's this about?"  
  
He said nothing, just looked at her. Just drank her in. He knew that he was being selfish, that she had a job to do outside this room and that every second he stood and looked at her increased the chances of the bastards getting away with it. But his mind was suddenly blank, unable to recall what it was he had dragged her in there to say. Then she asked, "Mulder?" with a concerned look, and laid a hand on his arm. That broke whatever it was that was holding him, and he stepped forward and fiercely wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair.  
  
Scully was startled, to say the least, but hardly displeased. After all, she had spent the better portion of the last 24 hours convinced that Mulder was being led to his death, and it had taken a great deal of self- control not to fling her arms around him when he appeared at the bank door. So now she held him, despite her fear that this was just the heat of the moment and that as usual, she'd have to put her professional mask back on far before she was ready. She could feel his heart racing underneath his shirt, and the smell of leather was strong in her nostrils. So was the smell of Mulder, but it was somehow tinged with fear. She was suddenly afraid of what had happened to bring him back.  
  
After a little while, he drew back and studied her face. She looked inquisitive, and he tried to decide how he should tell her what he had just been through, what it was that had prompted him to clutch her to himself as if he would never let go. But the look of care and concern in her eyes was too much for him. This was the face that had flashed through his head, the beautiful face that he had been so sure he'd never see again. One hand came up to touch her cheek, and then so suddenly she couldn't react, he bent down and kissed her.  
  
The nervous energy that had kept him bouncing around was completely stilled. All that existed was Scully's lips on his. The fact that she wasn't pulling back was noted in some corner of his mind, though most of him was focused on the incredible feel of her lips (*finally!*), and the way the world had simply stopped for a moment. Then it registered in another corner of his mind what exactly he was doing, and he abruptly stepped back.  
  
"Scully, I'm sorry," he mumbled, turning away towards the door. That was the wrong way to do it, coming out of an adrenaline rush like he had never had before, grabbing her with some primal need to feel that he was alive. He should have listened to her and waited till they were safely back in Washington.  
  
For once in her life, Dana Scully acted on pure instinct. She grabbed Mulder's arm and spun him around again. This time, he was the one unable to react as she pulled his head down towards her. Then they were kissing again, longer than before, deeper than before, _more_ than before. He finally had to pull back to breathe, and what he saw in her eyes was almost enough to block out the terror that had led him to touch her in the first place. "Scully," he whispered, awed.  
  
She said nothing for a while, just stood there with her arms around him under his jacket, her gaze locked on his. The feel of his body, solid next to hers, was more reassuring than anything in recent memory. The dread that had been choking her since her discovery of the source of the biotoxin was nearly gone. She slowly lifted a hand to touch his cheek, for further reassurance. "I thought you weren't coming back," she whispered.  
  
He nodded. "I thought so, too." Hesitantly, he put his arms around her. She leaned into him, and they stood like that for a long time.  
  
Scully again could feel Mulder's heart pounding right beneath her ear. Strangely, it was much slower than before. Strangely, because she was sure her own was racing. This was something that she had long expected to happen--they could only face death so many times before they finally broke down and revealed the feelings they both knew existed. That it came in terms of actions and not words was also unsurprising. She just hadn't expected how it would affect her. It was as though the energy she had seen in Mulder when he arrived had somehow been transmitted to her through his lips.  
  
But the longer she stood there in his arms, feeling/hearing the reassurance of his heartbeat, the calmer she felt. Eventually her brain processed that Mulder was, once again, okay, and there was still a job to do out in the bank. *Even if I would much rather be in here dealing with the adrenaline rush I just received.* Whatever had happened, or was happening, between them, it needed to be postponed for just a little while longer. She sighed and stepped back.  
  
Mulder instantly missed their warm embrace, but from her expression he realized that she did, too. He also realized that though he had said only a few words since entering the office, the essence of his message had been delivered loud and clear. The words that he had thought he would die without saying had not been spoken aloud, but they had been said in their own way. He reached out and squeezed her hand, his expression promising that they would continue this "discussion" later. Out loud he said, "Ready to do one more round against the forces of evil, partner?"  
  
"As long as you're with me, partner," she replied softly. They shared a last look, and then opened the door to get back to work. 


End file.
